The Boy Behind the Mask
by Llama Queen Katie
Summary: AU SasuNaru. 16 year old Naruto Uzumaki has always been the kind of person who wears a constant mask of happiness, no matter his true feelings. What happens when he meets Sasuke Uchiha? Will Sasuke be the one to see the real Naruto? Full summary inside.
1. Enter Naruto Uzumaki

**Okay, so here goes attempt number 3 at making a new fanfic. XP I've started two others before this that never made it past the author's note, so we'll see if this one works. So yeah, as the summary said, this is an AU, SasuNaru yaoi fic, though the rating of T will never change, as I'm not writing any lemons. Sorry if you were looking forward to that, it's just not happening. Oh yes, and this will include much Sakura-bashing.**

**Full Summary: 16 year old Naruto Uzumaki has always been the kind of person who wears a constant mask of happiness, no matter his true feelings. He's been like this for so long that none of his friends even realize that it's just a facade. What happens when his adoptive father, Iruka, brings his long-distance boyfriend, Kakashi, over...and Kakashi brings his adopted son, Sasuke? Will Sasuke turn out to be the one to see the true Naruto? Or will Naruto continue to succeed in his venture to fool everyone?**

**PAIRINGS (subject to change or be added to throughout the story): SasuNaru eventually, but NaruGaa and NejiSasu near the beginning; KakaIru; ShikaTem; InoSai; onesided SakuSasu; onesided SakuGaa; either KibaHina or ShinoKiba (I haven't quite decided yet, possibly a bit of both?); and probably more that I just can't think of right now.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my plot, though I'd love to have both Naruto and Sasuke for myself...oh the fun times the three of us could have...**

**The Boy Behind the Mask**

**Chapter 1**

"I should be back in a couple days, so don't burn the house down or anything," Iruka was saying. Naruto rolled his eyes, though he was grinning.

"Oh, come on, give me a little credit. It only happened once."

"And once is enough that I feel the need to say it every time I go," Iruka said, smiling. Both of them were joking; Naruto had never actually burned the house down. This was just the type of routine they went through each time Iruka went on a trip somewhere, or would be gone for more than a day. "But seriously, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone. And if you need me, don't hesitate to call. And-"

"Just go already," Naruto teased. "I'm not a little kid any more, I can handle being by myself." For just a moment, his eyes shifted, and Iruka was seeing the eyes of the six year old boy who would cling to his leg and beg him not to leave. However, the moment was gone almost as soon as it appeared, leaving Iruka to wonder whether he was seeing things.

"I know you can," was all he said, then gave Naruto a quick, one-armed hug, and left. As soon as Naruto heard the car drive away, he sighed, letting go of his carefully constructed facade.

Ever since Naruto's sixth birthday, when he'd witnessed his parents' deaths, he'd been taken care of by Iruka, who had been a friend of his parents. Iruka had given up everything, including his boyfriend, and taken Naruto to a different city far away for the boy's protection. Luckily for Iruka, however, his boyfriend Kakashi was very understanding about the whole thing, and so the two of them had kept in touch. Now that 10 years had passed, Kakashi was going to move to where Iruka and Naruto lived, and Iruka had offered to drive out and help him.

As Naruto was about to pop a movie into the dvd player, he heard a knock at the door and went over to it, staring out the peephole. He grinned as he saw who was standing there, and opened the door. "Hey, Sakura!" he greeted his friend.

"So I see that Iruka-sensei is gone now," the pink haired girl noted. Iruka taught at the local high school, and had taught each of Naruto's friends at least once.

"Yeah, you wanna come in?" Naruto offered.

"Sure," Sakura said. "Come on in, everyone!" At her words, a huge crowd of people came rushing in through the door, most of them Naruto's friends, but others were just people he knew of at the school.

"S-sakura, what do you think you're doing?" Naruto exclaimed. "I never agreed to any of this!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Sakura said dismissively. "And anyway, this is your last opportunity to get to know some of the more popular kids before our last year of school starts tomorrow. You don't want to be labeled a loser all your high school life, do you?"

"It's just one more year, I don't see what the-"

"Too bad, you don't have a choice in the matter! C'mon, I'll introduce you!" Sakura dragged Naruto into the midst of the party crowd, who had already found the music and food. She spent about half an hour forcing him upon all the most popular people of their school, and made him talk to them all and try to remember their names, and it wasn't until he was meeting the tenth person – a brunette girl by the name of Tenten – that he was finally saved.

"Give the guy a break, Sakura," Shikamaru said, "he's obviously not interested in meeting all these people."

Sakura frowned. "But isn't it every high school kid's dream to be popular?"

"Not necessarily," Shikamaru replied. "Most just want to be accepted, have a few friends who are always there for them, that kind of stuff. And Naruto's already got that, so quit making him meet all these people."

Sakura pouted, but walked off, chatting with some of the other people. Naruto turned to Shikamaru. "Thanks, you saved my life there," he said with a grin. Shikamaru chuckled.

"Not a problem," he said, "though that wasn't the reason I came over here."

"Then why did you come over here?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru leaned in and whispered in Naruto's ear, while his eyes darted around. "To escape Temari," he said. Naruto laughed.

"What, you finally get the girl you wanted after drooling over her since grade school, and now you won't spend time with her?"

"Shh, not so loud, she'll hear you!" Sure enough, a girl with short blonde hair came over and grabbed Shikamaru's arm.

"There you are, I've been looking all over for you," she said. "My younger brothers are here, they want to meet you. Or rather, I've told them they want to meet you."

Temari was three years older than Naruto and his friends, but since Shikamaru had laid eyes on her – once he'd gotten out of the "girls are icky" phase – he'd wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anything. She'd gone to the same school as the rest of them, though her two younger brothers had both gone to a different school, for reasons nobody but the three of them knew. Before Shikamaru or Naruto could object – or escape – Temari had waved over two of the boys Naruto hadn't recognized.

"These are my brothers, Kankurou and Gaara," Temari announced, gesturing at each of them in turn. Gaara was looking away, clearly unimpressed by the whole situation, while Kankurou was grinning at Shikamaru.

"So you're the brave guy who decided to take on the horrors of my sister," he said, then reached out and put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Good luck, she's a real handful sometimes."

"Kankurou!" Temari exclaimed. "Don't go saying stuff like that! Besides, it shouldn't even matter to you, you're younger than me!"

"Only by nine months," Kankurou said with a shrug. "I'm close enough to your age that I get to switch between being the protective brother and the annoying brother whenever I feel like it."

Temari scowled, and Naruto stealthily snuck away before he could get dragged into this any more than he already had been. He went into the kitchen, which was surprisingly empty considering the amount of people in the house. In fact, the only person in the kitchen was Gaara. Naruto went over to him.

"Hey," he said simply. "Your name is Gaara, right?" Gaara looked at him and nodded briefly before turning his attention back to the wall opposite him. "I didn't see you escape from Kankurou and Temari," Naruto continued. "You must be more stealthy than I am."

"I've had years of practice," was all the redhead said in response, still not looking at the blonde. Naruto grinned.

"I'll bet. So how come you don't go to the same school as me and...well, pretty much everyone else here? You look like you're the same age as me."

"I'll be joining you this coming year," Gaara said after a long while. Naruto frowned.

"That didn't exactly answer my question..."

Gaara walked out of the kitchen before Naruto could say anything else, leaving the blonde to stand there in confusion. He sighed. _I wonder how long it'll take them to notice I'm not there,_ he thought to himself. _There's so many of them, I could probably sneak off to my room without anybody realizing it. But can I trust them to not make a mess of the place if I'm not there? ...I guess a better question would be whether I can trust them to not make a mess of the place at all, even if I __am__ there. Well, no harm in leaving them alone, then._ With that thought, Naruto made his way upstairs to his bedroom. However, when he opened the door, he found Ino and Sai rolling around on his bed, making out.

Naruto stood there for a moment, torn between doing what he wanted to – which was yell at them to get the hell out of his room – and what people would expect him to do. With a small sigh, he plastered a grin on his face and jumped onto the bed, inserting himself between Ino and Sai. "Hey, you guys," he said, grin widening as he saw the shocked expressions on their faces. "Mind if I join in?"

Ino shrieked. "Ewww! Hell no! Why would I want someone like you to have a threesome with me?" She jumped up and ran out of the room, and Sai followed her silently, shutting the door behind him. Naruto couldn't help but laugh a little, then wonder what he would have done if Ino hadn't refused. He shuddered at the thought, then shook it out of his head. _It doesn't matter, because I knew from the start she'd say no. Otherwise I wouldn't have done it._

Naruto lay there silently for a while, until the door opened and closed quickly. He blinked and looked over to see Gaara standing there, eyes on the door, unaware that Naruto was in the room. Naruto cleared his throat, and Gaara looked over and shushed him. Naruto blinked in surprise, but stayed quiet. Moments later, he heard footsteps outside the door, and a familiar female voice calling Gaara's name. Naruto raised an eyebrow. _So Sakura is already trying to dig her claws into the new kid, I see,_ he thought to himself. _I guess that shouldn't surprise me, that's just how she is._

"Don't worry, she'll forget about you as soon as someone else comes along," Naruto reassured Gaara once he was certain the threat had passed.

"What do you mean by that?" Gaara asked, not moving from his position by the door. Naruto sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"Well, Sakura's the type of girl that isn't happy unless she's chasing someone down," he replied. "She doesn't seem to care whether that person is a guy or a girl, as long as she deems them attractive. The more they ignore her advances, the harder she tries, and the happier she is. I swear, she's already gone after almost all our school by now, so she's been trying for others that don't go there. If you want her to stay away, then don't try to run. Either that, or wait until somebody else comes along."

Gaara frowned. "So if I don't want to be with her...I should go along with what she wants?" he said in confusion, and Naruto nodded. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It's Sakura. Nothing makes sense when it comes to Sakura." Naruto grinned as he said this.

"Oh. I see." There was silence for a while, until Gaara spoke again. "So, why are you up here? It's your party, isn't it?"

Naruto grimaced slightly. "Not exactly," he said. "It was more of a spur of the moment thing that Sakura decided on without even asking me first. She likes to do stuff like that to me."

"Sakura is your friend?"

"Yeah, she is. I know what you're thinking; if she's my friend, why do I say the things I do about her? Well, it's just that kind of friendship. She's my friend and I care about her, but I'm not about to pretend I agree with all the things she does."

Gaara nodded slightly. "I suppose that makes sense," he said, "though I wouldn't really know. I haven't had any friends."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You've never had any friends?" he asked incredulously. "That's insane! How is that even possible?"

Gaara shrugged. "Nobody particularly likes me, not even my family."

Naruto frowned. "Well, that just won't do. How would you like to be my friend, Gaara?"

The redhead looked up in surprise. "You'd...you'd really do that?"

"Be your friend? Hell yeah."

"But...why? You barely even know me."

Naruto smiled. "Well, let's fix that, then." He motioned for Gaara to come sit by him on the bed, which Gaara did, after some hesitation. The two of them talked for hours, though it was mostly Naruto doing the talking, until somebody knocked on the door.

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice called out. "Are you in there, Naruto?"

Naruto sighed and got up. "Yeah, just give me a sec." He pulled Gaara up wordlessly and directed him to the closet, where he hid. Naruto went over to the door and opened it. "What's up?"

Sakura frowned. "What are you doing holed up in your room? There's a party going on downstairs, you know, and everyone's looking for you."

"I know, I know," Naruto said with a grin. "I just needed a bit of air, it's kinda stuffy with all those people in there. I'll be down in a minute, you go on without me."

Satisfied, Sakura nodded and left. Naruto closed the door again, and Gaara walked over to him. "So how can you be so comfortable around Sakura, knowing what she's like? Hasn't she ever tried to go after you?"

Naruto shrugged. "I've gotten used to her. And sure she's tried to go after me, but she gave up pretty quickly once she found out that I'm not interested in girls."

"Then does that mean that you're...?" Gaara began, but wouldn't finish.

"Gay?" Naruto supplied, then grinned at Gaara's expression. "Yeah, I am. And I don't care that you know. In fact, it's one of the first things I make sure my friends know. I'm not ashamed of it, and because of that, all my friends are comfortable with it. I think Hinata is still in denial about the whole thing, but she's the only one. Now come on, we'd both better get back to the party. Sakura will never leave you alone if you keep hiding from her."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Everybody left at around midnight, since school would start the next day, and Naruto spent the next couple hours cleaning up the house. He knew that Iruka wouldn't mind him having a couple friends over, but he wasn't sure how his guardian would react to the knowledge that a party had happened while he'd been away and unaware.

When Naruto woke up the next morning, he was surprised to hear voices in the kitchen. He got out of bed and slowly walked out to investigate. Iruka met him at the top of the stairs. "Oh, good, you're awake, Naruto," he said. "I was starting to think I'd have to come wake you." Naruto blinked in surprise.

"Iruka?" he said sleepily. "What are you doing back already? I thought you'd be gone another day."

"So did I," Iruka admitted, "but it seems Kakashi was very eager to get here, because he was already almost halfway here when I met up with him. Come on, you should come meet him." Iruka grinned and grabbed Naruto's wrist, pulling him over to the kitchen.

"Hey, wait!" Naruto protested. "At least let me put some real clothes on first!" But Iruka didn't listen, and kept pulling Naruto along. Sitting at one of the chairs in the kitchen was a man who looked only a few years older than Iruka, yet somehow had silver hair. He looked up and waved.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. You must be Naruto. Iruka has told me a lot about you."

"Ummm...hi," Naruto said, kind of uncertainly, then looked up at Iruka. "What kind of things have you told him about me?"

Kakashi laughed, while Iruka looked a little uncomfortable. "Only good things, don't worry," Kakashi said, trying to save his boyfriend some embarrassment.

"Well, anyway," Iruka said, "Kakashi, this is Naruto, Naruto this is Kakashi."

"It's nice to meet you, Naruto," Kakashi said. "Oh, and..." He looked around. "Dammit...where'd he run off to now?" Naruto heard footsteps from behind him, and Kakashi's face brightened slightly. "Ah, there you are. Naruto, meet my son, Sasuke Uchiha. Well, he's my adopted son, but you get the picture."

Naruto turned to see a pale teen, about his own age, with jet black hair and even blacker eyes. Naruto blinked a few times. _He...he's beautiful,_ Naruto thought, unable to take his eyes off the other. He watched as this boy – Sasuke – opened his mouth to speak.

"Nice boxers, moron."

_Beautiful...but a complete jerk._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**There you have it! The first chapter! It actually worked this time! This is going to be a lot different in many ways from my other Naruto fanfics, mostly because it's AU (obviously) but also because the only Japanese I'll be incorporating into it is "sensei", as well as the names obviously. XD I'm only using "sensei" because I like it better than having the characters say things like "Mr. Umino" like we'd do over here in North America. So yeah, let me know what you think, and if you think it has potential. In other words, REVIEW, MY MINIONS! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-(cough) Sorry about that. My evilness sometimes slips out at odd times. XD**


	2. First Day of School, Part I

**I am sooo incredibly sorry for the wait, guys! I was going through a tough time and lost my desire to write...but I think it's finally back now. Hopefully. XD I'm going to work through it, and maybe things will be okay. With my stories, that is. XP I warn you, though, after about 6 months of not writing much of anything, I may be a little rusty, and things might not be as good as they otherwise would. But in any case, I now present you with the long awaited...**

**Chapter 2**

"Nice boxers, moron."

Naruto found himself fighting, once again, with what he wanted to do versus what would be expected of him. Once again, the latter was the winner. He grinned. "Thanks, wanna see what's under them?"

Sasuke scowled and rolled his eyes, then pushed his way past Naruto. "Just get some clothes on. You're embarrassing me." As he passed the blonde, the two boys locked eyes for a couple seconds, and Sasuke could have sworn he saw something familiar in those pools of blue, but then Naruto looked away.

"Yeah, I should go get dressed," he said. "I'll be back in a couple minutes!" With that, he raced upstairs and shut the door to his room. Sasuke blinked and stared after him, then looked at Iruka.

"Is he..." he began, then drew circles around the side of his head with his finger, making the sign for "cuckoo".

Iruka smiled. "No, this is just how he is. There's nothing wrong with him, he's just a little over-exuberant. To be honest, I much prefer it this way."

"Prefer it?" Sasuke repeated. "What, was he different before?"

Iruka hesitated, then cast a glance up the stairs. "Well...I'm assuming that Kakashi has told you about why Naruto and I moved out here, correct?"

Sasuke nodded. "His parents died, and you didn't want him to have to be constantly reminded of it, so you moved to somewhere he wouldn't think of them all the time."

Iruka peered behind Sasuke at Kakashi, who gave a little nod as if to say, 'go along with it'. "Yes, that's right," Iruka confirmed, then lowered his voice so that it wouldn't carry up to Naruto's room. "For the first few months after that, I couldn't stop worrying about him. He was very young, and he went several days at a time without eating anything. He was so depressed, he wouldn't let me leave the house unless he was coming with me. He never wanted to stay with any of the babysitters I called in for him, and whenever we were out somewhere, he'd cling to me as if I were his lifeboat and he were thrown out to sea. Of course, it was completely understandable. I mean, the kid had just lost both his parents. Who wouldn't be upset about that? Still, I was very relieved when he finally got back to his normal, happy self."

"Why are you the one telling me all this?" Sasuke asked. "It seems like something he may not want some stranger knowing."

Iruka looked uncomfortable. "Well...you wanted to know if he was different before, and..."

"You could have just given me a simple answer, like 'yes, he was a lot less happy' or something," Sasuke said simply. "In any case, it doesn't particularly matter now, since what's done is done, though I would've preferred if something like that had come from Naruto himself."

"What about me?" Naruto asked, coming back downstairs. He was now wearing a pair of black pants and a white shirt with an orange swirl in the center.

"We were just speculating about how long you would take to get dressed," Kakashi answered without hesitation. "I was saying that you'd probably take forever, like Iruka, and Sasuke was saying something about how it didn't matter, as long as you were ready within five minutes."

Naruto frowned slightly, then grinned. "Oh, okay. If that's all...I guess it's time to go to school now!"

"Should we all pile in one car, or take two?" Iruka asked.

"We may as well take your car, Iruka," Kakashi replied. "There are only four of us, and your car is nicer to ride in. No sense in using up unnecessary gas when we can all fit."

Iruka nodded. "That makes sense," he said.

"Are you coming with us too?" Naruto asked Kakashi. The silver haired man nodded.

"Yup. I'm going to be the new lit teacher at the school, so you'd better start getting used to calling me 'Kakashi-sensei'."

Iruka laughed. "Dream on, Kakashi," he said. "I've been trying for years to get him to call me Iruka-sensei, at least at school, but he insists on just calling me Iruka."

Kakashi winked. "We'll see what happens." The four of them climbed into Iruka's car; the two adults in the front and the teens in the back. Naruto glanced over at Sasuke shortly after the car started.

"So...I guess this makes you kind of my brother," he said. "I mean, our adoptive fathers are together, so-"

"I already have a brother, thank you very much," Sasuke said coldly, not looking at Naruto. "I don't need another one."

"Oh," Naruto replied, not sure what else to say. "Well, why isn't he with you, then? Was he adopted by someone else?"

"He's much older than me," came the reply.

"Then why aren't you living with him? I'd think that it would be better to stick with family as much as you can."

Sasuke was silent for a long while. "Kakashi is my family," he said finally. "It doesn't matter that we're not related by blood, he's closer to me than any of my blood relatives."

"Do you not like your brother or something?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side as he looked at Sasuke. The other boy simply stared out the window of the car.

"This conversation is over," he declared, and Naruto frowned.

"That's not fair," he said. "I asked you a question, why won't you answer it?"

"Because it's a very personal question, and you're more or less a stranger to me, so I'm not obligated to answer," Sasuke said simply.

"Okay, I suppose that makes sense," Naruto said. "Then why don't we work on not being strangers?"

"I'm done talking to you," Sasuke said, still not looking at the blonde. Naruto sighed, but didn't bug Sasuke again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Iruka parked in his usual spot when they got to the school, then he took Kakashi inside for a tour of the building, with instructions for Naruto to introduce Sasuke to his friends. Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Would you rather have a tour of the school too?" he asked, and Sasuke shook his head.

"No need," he replied. "Kakashi and I were already shown everywhere."

Naruto frowned. "Then why did Iruka..." he began, then realization dawned on his face and he laughed. "Never mind. Okay, I'll take you to where my friends will be." He took Sasuke's wrist and dragged him away, despite the other boy's protests. He led Sasuke to the back of the school, where there were several trees and picnic tables. Two of these tables were filled with people, and one of them waved as he saw Naruto and Sasuke coming over.

"Hey, Naruto! How's it going?"

Naruto grinned. "Hey, Kiba! You look much better than you did last night."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to come onto me?" he asked.

"Well, you're still single, after all," Naruto replied, smirking at the brunette, who was quick to change the subject.

"So who's this, your new boyfriend?" he asked, gesturing to Sasuke. The pale boy scowled in response and shifted away from Naruto.

"Nah," the blonde replied, "he's just a jerk who has to live with me now."

All his friends stared at him questioningly at that statement, clearly asking him to elaborate. "Well, Iruka went to get his boyfriend, who is now a teacher here, and this is said boyfriend's adopted son," Naruto explained simply.

Kiba nodded slowly. "I suppose that kind of makes sense," he said. "So you guys are like brothers then?"

Sasuke turned his harsh glare on Kiba. "No, we're not," he stated, a clipped tone to his voice. "We are nothing, just two people who happen to be sharing living space."

Kiba smirked. "Right. Well, we'll see how long that lasts. Naruto here is-"

"Hold that thought, Kiba," Naruto said, spotting a certain redhead not far away. He grinned at his friends. "I'll be back, I've just seen someone else who's going to join our group...whether he knows it yet or not." His friends laughed as he went over to Gaara, who turned right at the last second.

"Hi," he said, and Naruto thought he saw a flicker of relief in those pale green eyes. Naruto smiled in response.

"Hey, why don't you come hang out with me and my friends until school starts?" he offered. Gaara looked at the large group of people hesitantly. Naruto noticed this. "Come on, it'll be fun," he tried. "They're not as intimidating as they look, trust me."

Gaara hesitated a little longer before nodding a little. "Okay...if you say so." Naruto grinned and took Gaara's arm, leading him over to the others. Kiba raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess; this guy is another one who had to move in with you?"

"No, wait a minute," Shikamaru said, speaking for the first time that day. "I think I recognize him from the party last night." He looked right at Gaara. "You're one of Temari's brothers. Gaara, right?" The redhead simply nodded in response.

"Introduction time," Naruto announced. "Sasuke and Gaara, this is Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, some other random people, and...well, Sakura's not here right now, but she'll show up soon enough." He gestured to each person as he said their names.

"Wait, 'some other random people'?" Sasuke asked. "They hang out with you, and you don't even know their names?"

Naruto shrugged. "People float in and out of the group so often, it's hard to keep track of who everyone is."

"They're only here because of my good looks," Kiba said with a smirk, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, as if," Ino said. "Nobody wants your looks. They're here for me."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Come on, everyone knows I'm the biggest reason all these people are here. The whole school loves me, after all."

"Not the whole school," Shino said quietly. "There's still Neji and his group."

Naruto made a face. "Yeah, but I don't count them. They're just a bunch of jerks who think they're better than everyone else." Before anybody could add anything to that, the bell rang to signal the start of school, and everyone dispersed, heading off in different directions.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Hello, everyone. My name is Kakashi Hatake, and I am your new lit teacher."

Nobody in the room paid him much attention; they were too busy throwing stuff at each other and chatting and just generally being rowdy. The only one not taking part in this was Sasuke, who sat at the very back of the room, looking bored. The door to the classroom opened, drawing everyone's attention.

Naruto sauntered into the room, a goofy grin on his face. "Hey, sorry I'm late. I just...well, I didn't feel like coming to class." Most of the students laughed as Naruto took a seat – the only one left, right beside Sasuke's. As the desks were all placed in rows of two, this meant he was quite close to the pale boy. Sasuke glared at him, but Naruto ignored this and stared at Kakashi.

"Well, then," Kakashi said, "now that you're all here and at least halfway paying attention...I thought we'd begin with everybody writing something for me." A chorus of groans sounded from the class. Kakashi smirked. "Yes, I thought that would be your reaction. But believe me, this is necessary. How else am I supposed to know where everyone's writing level is at? This exercise will help me find out what lessons I need to focus on and which ones you are already proficient in. So, take out some paper and a pen, and start writing."

Ino put her hand up. "Um...Kakashi-sensei? What are we supposed to write about?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Anything, I suppose. You could write a short story, a poem, a stream of consciousness...whatever comes to mind, just as long as it's mostly school appropriate." Ino nodded, and then she and everyone else got to work.

Naruto smiled a little. Despite how he portrayed himself, lit was always his best subject. He was a good writer and he knew it, though he always made sure that his teachers didn't say it was his writing if they chose to read it out for the class. So he thought for a moment, then put his pen to the paper and started writing.

After about half an hour of this, Kakashi called for the students to stop writing. Naruto put his pen down, satisfied that he would get a good mark on this poem. He read it over again to see if there was any way anybody but him would know what it was about.

_Darker than the blackest night,  
Cold obsidian orbs,  
They call to me, whispering  
Sweet words of longing.  
And yet, despite their ice I sense  
Something warm and familiar.  
They try to hide it, but  
None can hide from me._

_What's the truth behind them?  
What secrets might onyx  
And sapphire share?  
Perhaps I may never know  
But I can always try  
To find out._

It wasn't the longest poem he'd ever written, nor was it really the most eloquent, but then he'd spent a long time trying to keep it vague and abstract on the off chance it was chosen to be read to the class. As he quickly scribbled his name at the top of the page, he didn't notice the obsidian orbs in question glancing at his paper to see what he wrote. Naruto got up and gave Kakashi his paper, grinning his usual stupid grin.

Once all the papers were handed in, Kakashi gave them each a copy of a book. "Read the first chapter," he instructed. "If you finish, move on to the second, but if you don't finish, it's for homework. Tomorrow we will be discussing chapter one, and I expect every person to participate." Once more, groans rang out in the classroom.

"This is stupid," Naruto said loudly, knowing his classmates would rely on him to do this. "It's the first day of school, and you're making us do homework? That's lame."

"I'm not making anyone do homework, Naruto," Kakashi said calmly. "I'm giving everyone plenty of time to read in class. If, however, someone were to choose to goof off rather than read, then he would have to finish the chapter at home. It's as simple as that."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Not like anyone's actually going to do that." With that, he turned in his seat to face Kiba, who sat at the desk pair next to him, and began chatting. Most of the class did the same, with a few people actually attempting to read. By the end of the period, however, only two people were left reading, as everyone else had given up due to the noise. The two who stuck through it were Gaara and Sasuke, a fact which Naruto didn't fail to notice. _Maybe the jerk won't be that bad to live with,_ he thought. _He seems to like reading as much as I do._ Naruto did enjoy reading, but it was something he preferred to save for his private moments at home. After all, his peers had come to expect him to act a certain way, and for the sake of his own happiness, he had to go along with that image.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sasuke went directly from lit to chemistry, and found a seat at a lab bench in the back of the room. As the class filed in, and several girls – and some guys – went over to him with hopeful expressions, he just gave them all his customary glare, which drove them away quite efficiently. However, when a guy with long, brown hair came and just took a seat next to Sasuke, not even that glare would make him leave.

"Go away," he instructed the other boy in a cold voice.

"Don't tell me what to do," the brunette replied, using the same tone. "It's a free country, and nobody was sitting here. Therefore, there's no reason I can't take this seat."

"Sure, go ahead, take that seat...and shove it up your ass," Sasuke suggested. The boy smirked and leaned in closer.

"Oh, but I'd much rather shove something of mine up your pretty little ass," he whispered, no trace of sarcasm in his voice. Sasuke had to fight to control the urge to shiver.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he demanded, and the boy smirked more.

"I'm Neji, of course. And I already know that you're the new kid, Sasuke. Every girl in the school is talking about you."

"It's only second period, though," Sasuke said. "I haven't met half the girls in this school, so how are they all talking about me?"

Neji laughed; a cold and humourless sound. "Every girl who's seen you has taken a picture with her phone and sent it to all her friends."

"Wait...what?"

Neji rolled his eyes. "What are you, deaf?" Sasuke glared at him.

"I heard what you said, asshole. I mean what as in why would they do that?"

"Because they think you're hot." Neji shrugged. "Well, that and the fact that you come across as being kind of a dick, so I'm guessing they want to try and change you or some crap like that."

Before Sasuke could reply, however, the teacher decided to start the class. All throughout the period, Sasuke could feel Neji glancing at him, though neither of them spoke until the bell rang. Neji waited while Sasuke gathered up his stuff, then left the room with him.

"So what class do you have next?" the brunette asked.

"What's it matter to you?" Sasuke replied defensively.

Neji's expression turned cold. "Fine, be that way, then. I was just trying to be nice." With that, he walked off.

Sasuke sighed. _I thought he'd never leave,_ he mused silently before walking into his math class.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto walked into art class right as the bell rang, and took his usual seat. He looked beside him and was surprised to see Gaara sitting there. "Gaara?" he whispered as their teacher began talking. "I never would've pegged you as being the artsy type."

"I could say the same for you," Gaara replied simply, watching the teacher, who turned and looked at the both of them.

"Naruto, Gaara, do you have something to share with the class?" he asked. Naruto grinned his customary grin.

"Nope, not at all, Deidara-sensei. We were just talking about you and whether you'll actually decide to stay with the next person you date." The class snickered; it was a well known fact that Deidara had issues when it came to dating. Every person he found was in some way not right.

"I find that hard to believe," Deidara said, a grin forming at his lips, "but okay. So, as I was saying..." Naruto and Gaara were both quiet for the rest of the lesson, and then as soon as the students were free to work on their projects, Naruto turned to the redhead beside him.

"So what kind of stuff do you draw?" he asked. Gaara shrugged, penciling in the shapes of some trees.

"Whatever comes to mind, I suppose," he replied. "I'm not very good at it, but I'm the only artist in my family. Temari told me that she doesn't care what I do with my school life as long as I take art class. She said something about nurturing my gift, whatever that's supposed to mean."

Naruto grinned. "So do you just live with your brother and sister, then?" Gaara was silent, refusing to answer, so Naruto switched the topic. "I'm really only in this class because it's easy, and it gives me a chance to chat with my friends...though for some reason they seem to be skipping today."

"Your friends are an odd bunch of people," Gaara noted. "That Kiba guy reminds me a lot of my brother, which isn't necessarily a good thing."

Naruto laughed, drawing the attention of a couple people nearby. "Yeah, Kiba's awesome. A lot of people say that we must be twins separated at birth or something, because we're so much alike."

"...that's not really what I said at all," Gaara pointed out, and Naruto shrugged.

"I know, I was just saying." He turned to his own piece of paper and started drawing slowly. Neither of them said much for the rest of class, until Naruto looked at Gaara's picture. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "I thought you said you weren't good at art!"

Gaara shrugged, looking at his work. "I'm not. This isn't really that good." He'd drawn a fairly realistic picture of a forest in only a half hour, and appeared to be adding a person in among the trees.

"Are you kidding? This is freaking awesome!"

Gaara blushed a little. "Naruto, keep your voice down. People are staring." Sure enough, the people nearest them were now trying to get a look at what could possibly be so amazing. Gaara flipped his page over in embarrassment, not wanting them to see.

"What's going on over here?" Deidara asked, coming over. "You two are disrupting my classroom."

"Sorry, sensei," Naruto said quickly, "it was nothing." He grinned as Deidara raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, of course it was," he said in clear disbelief. "Just keep it down, will you? We still have fifteen minutes to go before the end of class."

"Right, of course," Naruto said, nodding. "We'll be quiet." He turned back to Gaara, who was now ignoring him and continuing his drawing. Naruto sighed softly, turning back to his work. Instead of drawing anything, however, he just stared at his watch, counting the seconds until lunchtime.

**There, I hope that was at least halfway decent...again, I'm really sorry you guys. I promise I'll try my best to get chapter three out within about a week, maybe two weeks max, but I've got a lot going on right now, so it might not be that quick. I can guarantee, however, that I won't make you wait nearly as long as I did for this one. I hope you enjoyed this, at least partly!**


	3. First Day of School, Part II

**... -reads over last chapter- -notices how it said she wouldn't make readers wait as long- -looks at calendar- Craaaaaaaaap...I'm sorry, guys. I don't know what to say. I can't think of an excuse that can make up for the year and (almost) three months I've made you wait, especially when realizing how people apparently seem to like this so far. I mean, really, seven reviews with only two chapters? That's freaking epic, guys! I don't deserve fans like you.**

**So I know I said last chapter after taking only six months off writing that I'd be a little rusty...holy sweet hell that is nothing, I repeat, NOTHING like taking over a year off. This past year and a bit, I haven't really written anything (except stuff for English class, which apparently was still good enough) in story format, I've just done some script format roleplaying with a friend, so I apologize profusely if this turns out to be the utter crapfest I'm fearing it will. Of course, I'll do my best to make it _not_ turn out like that, but if it does, please don't shoot me. And now, because I can't think of any other way to stall for time, on with the much anticipated...**

**Chapter 3**

"...so then I said, 'Like hell I will, loser!' and he was all, 'But please?' and I was all, 'Nuh uh,' and then he ran away crying." Ino ended her story there, looking supremely pleased with herself.

"Did you have to be so harsh?" Sakura said condescendingly.

"Sometimes a little harshness is necessary to make that type understand you're not interested," Ino pointed out. "And I'm very much not interested in him."

"Yeah, anyway, moving attention away from the drama queens," Kiba began, looking to Naruto and Gaara. "How're you liking this school so far, Gaara?"

Gaara looked up from his food, surprised to see all eyes of the massive group on him. "It's school," he responded after a while. "What do you expect me to say?"

"Generally when someone asks a question like that, they're looking for a comparison between this school and your last one," Naruto said, eliciting a slight snigger from Kiba.

Gaara shrugged. "Some classes are bigger, some are smaller. The people are mostly the same. Nobody's bothered to talk to me except you guys, and that's the way I like it." There was something in his eyes that made Naruto doubt the truth of that last statement, but he didn't pry further, knowing by now that this was likely all they could hope to get out of the introverted Gaara. Kiba seemed to realize this too, because he changed the topic again.

"Speaking of new kids, where's that boyfriend/brother of yours, Naru?" he asked, half teasing and half serious.

"I don't know, he wasn't in either of my last two classes," the blonde replied, looking around the cafeteria for any sign of Sasuke.

"He's probably already fallen in with Neji and them," Chouji suggested with his mouth half-full as always. "He gives off the same vibe they do."

"Oh hell no, there's no way Neji could've gotten to someone faster than me," Naruto argued. His friends all looked at each other warily, knowing what was coming next. Neji and Naruto were two of the most charismatic students in their class, though they were about as opposite as opposite could be. Naruto was determined to win people over with his bubbly and outgoing personality, not caring if he had to make himself look like an idiot to get someone to smile, while Neji relied on his looks and a calmer – if often meaner – outlook on life. Ever since the beginning of elementary school, when the two had realized how different they were, they'd striven to bring the most students in the class to their side.

Naruto had won Kiba and Chouji over almost immediately, since he and Kiba were a lot alike and he was one of the first people to be nice to Chouji, and Shikamaru and Hinata had followed soon after to make the core of Naruto's group. There was some controversy when Hinata chose Naruto over her own cousin, but it only served to make Neji more determined to win this battle of popularity. Tenten had been the first to join Neji's group, as she had always had a huge crush on him even now that she knew he was completely gay. Sai and Suigetsu followed Tenten, making the core of Neji's group. Ino and Sakura had initially flocked to Neji based on his looks alone, but upon finding out what kind of personality those looks were covering, they joined Naruto instead. Over the years, the two groups had grown, although most of the students on either side didn't actually interact with the leader of their chosen group, they just chose a side to shut everyone up. Every time a new student joined their class, Naruto and Neji would both do everything they possibly could to coax said student over to their side. It had become a matter of pride and tradition for the boys, especially since they both knew it was rare the new student would join their core group, but everyone knew this battle would wage on until graduation day.

As it happened, both Naruto and Neji spotted Sasuke walking into the cafeteria at the same time, and both got up from their seats to go talk to him.

"Heya Sasuke," Naruto said cheerfully. "Come on, I saved you a seat over at my table."

"Don't sit with those losers," Neji ushered Sasuke. "Come sit with me and my friends. You can rule the school with us."

"Pfft as if," Naruto scoffed. "You just want him to be your new boy toy since Lee dumped you to join my group."

"No, I simply wish to save this innocent soul from a year of humiliation with your...'friends'."

"And what makes you think," Sasuke said coldly before Naruto could throw out another retort, "that I want to sit with either of you?"

Naruto and Neji both fell silent for a moment, shocked at this new development. Naruto snapped out of it first. "Don't be silly, Sasuke, you're living with me now. Might as well get to know me as best you can."

"Yet as you said, I'm living with you," Sasuke said. "If I'm going to survive that, I can't be a part of your group too. Being around you outside of school hours will be torture enough."

"Then come sit with me," Neji coaxed. "You'll like my friends, and we're a much smaller, more intimate group than the losers who hang around this idiot."

"Something tells me that if I sit too close, you'll try to rape me or something," Sasuke replied. "And I'm really not interested in being raped, thank you very much." Without another word, he pushed past the two rivals and found an empty table to sit at, leaving Naruto and Neji dumbfounded for the second time in as many minutes.

"Well," Naruto said with a shaky laugh, looking at Neji, "shall we call this one a draw?"

Neji regarded him coldly. "Not a chance, loser. That sex god _will_ be mine, no matter what." He returned to his table to think of how else to persuade Sasuke to join him, and Naruto took the opportunity to go to Sasuke.

"I told you, I'm not interested," Sasuke said before Naruto could say a word.

"I know, I heard you," Naruto said, sitting across from him and dropping his overly bubbly demeanour for a more serious one. "I just thought maybe I could convince you to change your mind."

"Doubt it," Sasuke muttered, though he noticed the change in the blonde boy and wondered if this was just a part of his newest ploy.

"Thing is, Neji and I have this rivalry going on," Naruto began, "and the short story is that things are just going to get worse and both of us will get more annoying until you finally crack and choose a side. If you just come sit with me now, it'll save you a world of trouble. You don't even have to stay with us for long, just enough to show Neji who you chose. Then you can go back to being a loner if you want to. Oh sure, Neji will pester you more for the first while after you choose us, but he'll give up. He always does."

Sasuke looked at him for a long moment before responding. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because Neji is never this honest with people, and I want to show you that there's more to me than meets the eye," Naruto replied. "If you ask Neji, he'll tell you some bull story of how he and I used to be friends but then I did some horribly awful thing to him and stole half the mutual friends we had, so now he wants to make sure I don't get any more. None of that's true, we were never friends. We hated each other from the start. You don't want to get wrapped up with someone who lies so easily, Sasuke. Come sit with me and my friends. Kiba will pester you for a while, but he'll lose interest soon enough and you can be silent with your thoughts. Trust me, that's what happened with Shikamaru."

Sasuke thought about it for longer than he'd planned to, then shook his head. "I'm not interested in fuelling this stupid rivalry. I'd much rather be alone."

Naruto sighed softly and stood up. "Suit yourself, then. Just remember what I said about Neji, and know that the offer to join me still stands if ever you choose to take me up on it." He left, and Sasuke stared after him in surprise.

_That's it?_ he thought. _No needling? No pleading? He seems like such a drama queen, I thought for sure he'd cause some scene where he'd get down on his knees and literally beg for me to join him..._ He shrugged and started eating. _Oh well, it's easier this way._

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Neji watched Naruto sit and talk to Sasuke with cold eyes. _Playing dirty, are we Uzumaki?_ he thought. _Fine. Two can play at that game._ He surveyed his "friends" silently. He called them his friends out loud to make himself seem nicer than he was, though there was an understanding in his group that they were only there because it suited him, and that he expected them to do what he said when he said it without question. He always kept at least one butt buddy close to him, sometimes two so that he had a backup plan if the first left like Lee did, and considered the others as mere pawns he could move to capture more. His current favourite was Suigetsu, mostly because his white-blonde hair was so soft and he had a talented mouth and wicked tongue – in more ways than one.

"Suigetsu," Neji said abruptly, drawing the other teen's attention. "I want you to get close to this Sasuke kid. Not too close; I intend to make him my own as soon as I can. Just get yourself close enough that he trusts you, and then start dropping subtle hints about me and why he should join me. If you get him to me by Christmas break, I'll give you a special treat."

Suigetsu hesitated only briefly before nodding. "Alright, it's a deal. Talk to you guys later." He grinned and got up with his food, taking a slightly roundabout route to get to Sasuke's table just in case the new boy happened to notice him coming from Neji's table.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked. Sasuke glared up at him.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," he replied coldly, and Suigetsu suppressed a shiver at the ice in his gaze. _He's colder than Neji_, he thought, but kept the grin on his face and sat.

"Awesome."

"That doesn't mean I want you sitting here, moron," Sasuke said.

"Oh I know," Suigetsu replied. "I was planning on sitting whether you wanted me to or not."

"Then why bother asking?"

Suigetsu shrugged. "Formality."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood up. "This is ridiculous, I'm moving somewhere else."

"Be my guest, but this is the emptiest table you're going to find. All the other tables have been taken up by girls hoping desperately you'll sit with them so they can brag to their friends."

Sasuke looked around and, finding this to be the truth, sat back down a little awkwardly, acutely aware of the disappointed stares hitting him at all angles. He sighed. "Fine, you win. But don't expect me to keep conversation."

Suigetsu smiled, more to himself than anything. "Fair enough." He turned his attention to the rest of his lunch and ate in silence. Sasuke watched him in surprise for the first while before slowly, disbelievingly, turning to his food as well. The sweet sound of silence surrounded the two teens as they ate, almost seeming to form a protective barrier between their table and the din around them. In fact, the silence was so strong and, to Sasuke, comforting, that both boys jumped a little as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch.

"Well, see you around," Suigetsu said as he got up, surprising Sasuke further by not asking the standard question of what class he had next, followed by the followup question of whether he wanted an escort. As a result of this surprise, Sasuke was a little slow to get up and put his garbage away, and he ended up being the last person in the cafeteria. Well, almost the last. Just as he started to walk away, a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind and he felt someone's lips gently kissing his neck and something poking him right between his butt cheeks. He froze instantly, memories flooding his mind unbidden.

_Pale arms circled his waist, hands ghosting lower down his front...high, cruel laughter sounded as he lay in the corner, curled up in a ball, crying harder than any ten-year-old boy should...his brother's face swam before his eyes, concerned and protective, helping him up...that cold, smooth voice warning both him and his brother that their parents would never believe them even if they told..._

A sharp pain on his cheek brought Sasuke back to reality. A pair of soft blue eyes was regarding him with the same concern Itachi used to, and the arms that held him now were tanned and very subtly muscled. He blinked a few times to clear his head, and slowly other details came to his attention. For one, he wasn't in the cafeteria anymore, he was in a washroom. For two, there were tears on his face, though whether from the memories, whatever ended up happening in the cafeteria, or the slap which woke him up, he wasn't certain. And for three, it was Naruto holding him, Naruto who had saved him from his own mind and from the person in the cafeteria. He did a quick pain check on the rest of his body and was relieved to discover that aside from the residual sting on his cheek – which had by now almost faded into nothing – he was physically okay.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said softly, more tenderly than Sasuke had expected him to be capable of speaking. "It's alright, Sasuke, I've got you. You're safe."

Sasuke blinked at him dumbly, mentally shaking himself enough to pull away from the blonde boy's embrace and stand, putting his back to a stall door and angling his head to hide the tears he was wiping away, though he knew Naruto had already seen them. Naruto stood as well, slowly, hands where Sasuke could see them, eyes never leaving the other teen's face. Sasuke appreciated the consideration, though of course he'd never say so in as many words, and took another moment or two to regain the rest of his composure.

"You saw nothing, got it?" he said to Naruto in a shaky attempt at his famous venomous voice. "Nothing happened, in here or back there, and if I said anything along the way, you never heard it."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Of course. My lips are sealed." He was silent for a moment, debating, then just spat it out. "I don't expect you to, in fact I'd be surprised if you did, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm here if you want to talk. Not necessarily right now, but whenever..._if_ ever...you feel the need or desire to confide in someone, I'm willing to listen and not judge."

Sasuke processed that for a moment. "We'll see how good you are at keeping this little incident a secret first," he said finally. "After that...well, don't expect any miracles." It was clear by his posture and expression that he was done with this discussion, and also that he wasn't going to leave until Naruto did, so Naruto nodded again and left the washroom, heading back to class. Sasuke checked the stalls to make sure he was alone, then went to the sink and splashed some water on his face in an effort to further calm himself. Eventually he worked up the nerve to leave the washroom as well, though he chose to go outside to the courtyard rather than to class.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"So, anything interesting happen on your first day of school, boys?" Kakashi asked as the four of them drove back home.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Naruto replied easily, pulling off a relaxed air and not even glancing at Sasuke as he said the words. "Though Kiba won the eating contest at lunch. I don't know _how_ he managed to beat Chouji, especially after both of them had already eaten their normal lunches, but he did."

"I don't imagine Chouji was very happy about that," Iruka remarked, and Naruto laughed.

"Hell no." This sparked more conversation between Naruto and the two teachers in the front, leaving Sasuke free to sit silently and brood, though he couldn't help but wonder whose arms had grabbed him in the cafeteria. He knew it wasn't Naruto, since the feel had been different and it would take one incredibly skilled actor to pull off the concerned act the blonde boy had after being the cause for concern in the first place. _Although,_ Sasuke thought, _he does have a talent for pretending to be something he's not. Which Naruto is the fake one, though? The happy idiot or the caring charmer?_ He thought on this for a long while, then decided it didn't matter just now. He'd figure it out eventually.

"What about you, Sasuke?" Iruka asked, bringing Sasuke out of his thoughts. "How are you liking it here so far?"

Sasuke shrugged. "It's school, what do you expect me to say?"

Naruto couldn't help but smile as Sasuke unknowingly echoed Gaara's words from before. _They're really not so different,_ he realized. _Gaara's a bit more open to the idea that someone would want to be his friend than Sasuke is, and I'm sure it'll take less time to crack Gaara than it will Sasuke, but they both put on the same indifferent air to hide what they truly think and feel. That's a difficult facade to pull off._

Somehow, Naruto's reverie had lasted the remainder of the car ride, and by the annoyed look on Sasuke's face, he hadn't missed much except Iruka trying to coax more information out of Sasuke. They got inside the house and Sasuke went straight for his room, muttering something about homework. Naruto went to his room as well with a vague reference to playing video games, but once he'd shut his door and turned on his gaming system – just in case anyone planned on checking up on him – he took out the book Kakashi had assigned the class and started reading. He hadn't even gotten halfway through chapter one before there was a knock on the door. Hastily he stuffed the book back into his backpack and picked up the game controller, pulling off a look of extreme concentration.

"Yeah, come in," he called, making it seem as though he'd been playing this entire time.

The door opened slowly. "Naruto?" Sasuke's voice came almost timidly. Surprised, Naruto paused the game and looked up at him with compassion. "I just...thank you. For not saying anything to Kakashi."

Naruto smiled softly. "Of course. I promised I'd keep quiet, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I just wasn't sure if you'd keep that promise or not," Sasuke replied. "So thanks for proving me wrong. Oh, and you might want to make a little more noise if you expect anyone to think you're really playing that game. You were being far too quiet for a gamer." He smirked and shut the door again, leaving Naruto just as surprised as when the door opened.

_Maybe he's not such an asshole after all,_ he reflected.

**Well then...that wasn't supposed to happen. Actually, almost none of that was supposed to happen, but oh well! The plot has thickened, and my writing didn't deteriorate half as much as I feared it would! Or maybe it's just because I'm tired and in the midst of a cold that I don't notice how crappy this chapter really is...nah, I'm gonna go ahead and pretend it's just my mad writing skillz returning to me.**

**So yeah, that was shorter than I was hoping for, yet longer than I expected to be able to write, so kind of still a win, right? XD Please review, guys, and let me know what you think. I'll be interested to know how obvious my "subtle" hints really were, since I strove to make them subtle and vague as I wrote them, then realized reading it over that maybe they were a little more obvious than I'd intended. This time, I really promise it won't be long before the next chapter. I don't have nearly as much going on in my life now as I did when I wrote the last chapter, so it should be easier for me to keep that promise. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll shut up now before I go on a tired, sick ramble. :P**


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